By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao has high expectations for import Jaylen Johnson and the 6-foot-9 forward lived up to that at least on his first game in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
Johnson was all over the floor with 29 points, 24 rebounds and six assists to help his team paint a rosy start to the mid-season conference with a 116-109 win over the guest team Macau Black Knights.
He also had two steals and a block in almost 40 minutes of play.
“I was telling Jaylen that he’s going to have to be in his best shape to help us out in this conference because we just want to be active and be all over offense and defense, pressing and running our transition,” said Guiao
“I try to get him some rest on the bench whenever I can to just recharge him, get him fresher legs. But I’m sure he knows by this time that we’re going to have to work a lot harder on our conditioning,” he added.
But more than his performance on the court, what exactly pleased Guiao was Johnson’s chemistry with the rest of the players, even dancing and celebrating with them at some point of the game.
“It’s good that we were able to bring in Jaylen a little earlier than the other imports coming in. That’s a real advantage,” said the veteran mentor.
“Also, he’s very familiar with the way the guys play. I think he has six assists.
Could have been probably a triple-double if some of those passes he made to his teammates were converted,” he added.
With the first game in the books, Guiao said the team is getting a clearer picture of what’s ahead of them and what needs to be done for the team.
“I think we have a better picture now of what we’re facing,” said Guiao.
“But we knew that coming in. We knew he could play all around, could play defense and give us these numbers.”
